ITV has announced that the four-part drama series Litvinenko will air on ITV1 in June. The series stars David Tennant as Alexander Litvinenko, the former Russian Federal Security Services and KGB officer, whose death from Polonium-210 poisoning in November 2006 triggered one of the most complex and dangerous investigations in the history of the Metropolitan Police. Litvinenko has been available to stream via ITV's own free streaming service ITVX since December, but this is its first terrestrial airing in the UK.
Litvinenko is the story of the determined New Scotland Yard
officers who worked to prove who was responsible for the death of Alexander
Litvinenko. Written by acclaimed screenwriter George Kay (Creator and
Showrunner of the smash hit crime thriller Lupin) the drama relates how in
November 2006 two police officers were called to University College Hospital in
London to interview a patient in declining health. The patient was Alexander
Litvinenko, a Russian dissident who claimed to have been poisoned on the direct
orders of Vladimir Putin. During the police interviews, Alexander provided
meticulous details from his hospital bedside about the events leading up to his
illness, which he knew would prove fatal. His information would ultimately help
detectives track down two Russians who had poisoned Litvinenko with
Polonium-210, a highly toxic radioactive substance. The drama also focuses upon
the story of Marina, portrayed by Margarita Levieva (The Deuce, The Blacklist),
Alexander’s fearless, dignified widow who fought tirelessly to persuade the
British Government to publicly name her husband’s killers and acknowledge the
role of the Russian State in his murder.
Litvinenko has been produced with the support of many of the
key individuals involved in the investigation and subsequent public inquiry
including former New Scotland Yard officers, Clive Timmons and Brent Hyatt,
along with Ben Emmerson QC and Alexander’s family. Mark Bonnar, Neil Maskell and Daniel Ryan also star.
The premiere broadcast date in June is to be confirmed.
Comments
Post a Comment